Angel of My Nightmares
by cuppateaforyou
Summary: A Leico/Ghostfire ship for sure. I don't know how many chapters there will end up being. Probably a lot! ;D This is my first FanFic so please bear with me! There's some cussing and there will be kissing. It shouldn't go too far past that...Anyways, feel free to comment or put out some things you want to see. I'll try to keep it going as far and as long as I can! Enjoy! HoH Spoilers
1. Breakfast at Dinner

Leo looked up at the ceiling and smiled. There was nothing up there, just satisfaction. He had done it. _They _had done it. Gaea was gone, slumbering away somewhere hopefully not peacefully. And now they were sailing to Camp Half Blood, which was not in ruins thanks to Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge, while all seven of his friends and himself were alive and on the ship. His beautiful little baby of a ship that had endured all of the war-well, except for the mast. That thing really did not want to be part of the fun. He had probably replaced it dozens of times over the duration of the journey. Anyways, now he just laid in his warm bed, his covers up to his armpits and his hands behind his head, smiling deliriously at the ceiling of his lovely little ship.

_Knock, knock_

Leo was so lost in thought he just made a soft grunting sound subconsciously. The door opened slightly and Percy peeked in.

"You wearing something?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Leo replied slyly, arching his eyebrow and smiling mischievously. Percy just looked at him with that face Leo got so often. That face that said _really Leo? right now?_

"Yeah, Funbags, I got shorts on."

"Good, because I need to talk to you. It's about-" Percy faltered. "It's about you. I'm concerned about you-we all are. It's just," Percy sighed "We all have each other. Frank and Hazel, Piper and Jason, me and Annabeth. And then there's you. I mean-uhg. We love you and we care about you and we will always, always have your back," Percy looked up to meet Leo's eyes because he had been fiddling with the sheets this whole time "but you need that one person. You need to not be that third wheel. Because no matter how much you joke, we know that you're lonely."

Leo looked up at Percy. Percy, the one who had recently climbed out of Tartarus barely alive and now wanted to hold the role of finding the love of Leos life. "Percy, listen. We're, what, seventeen? Love is not my biggest concern. Stop worrying about little Leo and go lie down with your girlfriend. I. Am. Fine."

Percy sighed, opening his mouth but shutting it again before he could say anything. Then his eyes opened, he smiled, laughing silently and shaking his head for a moment, then nodding. "Okay, Valdez. You win for now. But I'm coming back for you."

Leo smiled but his brows were furrowed. "Hey, what about Nico? You came in here and harassed me about being a third wheel when Nico's single and on board and he's not even on of the seven! Un-cool, man."

"Oh, he's next." Percy winked and shut the door behind him.

_Because that was exactly how I needed my morning to start _Leo thought as he laid in bed for a few more minuets. _At least they're concerned _the other part of him said. _Shut up, you two. I don't need you blabbing in my ear _Leo replied. He slipped on a shirt and a pair of work shorts and snatched his tool belt from its hanger. On his way into the hall Leo nearly ran into Nico. He was wearing black jeans with a rip in the left knee, a simple faded AC/DC shirt, bare feet, and messy, tousled black hair. Leo noticed that Nico didn't have his aviators jacket, which was weird. Leo also noticed that Nico was still taller than him, which was frustrating considering Leo was at least two years older.

"Did Percy come in…" He let the question hang so Leo plucked it out of the air.

"Yeah. Telling me that I needed to stop making tricycles, like I can help it."

Nico just looked at him, clearly not getting it. "The third wheel. He told me I needed to stop being the third wheel, like I could help it." Leo explained. Maybe it was a bad joke. "Mint?" Leo held out the Altoids tin from his tool belt. Nico hesitated then took one of the mints and popped it into his mouth. Leo slipped the can back into his belt and sat down at the Mess Hall table. Even though it was about eight and night, Leo wanted pancakes.

A few bites into his magical meal Frank and Hazel, who did the night shift with Leo and Nico, walked in and slumped onto some chairs. While Nico was skinny and underfed, he only pushed his muffin and hash browns around his plate to advoid eating, making faces in the food when he thought no one was looking. But when Frank and Hazel walked in? They looked like they'd died in their sleep.

"Well, hello there, Mr and Mrs Beautiful. How'd you sleep?"

Frank folded his arms on the table and plopped his head down.

"Killed by a cold. Saved the world from an evil ancient goddess to be killed by a cold on the ride home." Hazel answered,

"Uh, have you tried some food of the gods? I heard it does wonders!" Leo offered.

If we have any more of that stuff, we'll explode." mumbled Frank into the table.

"How in Olympus does a demigod get so sick that they can't be cured by ambrosia or nectar? It's the food of the gods! It mends bones!" Leo countered, launching bits of pancake onto the table.

Frank shifted in his chair but otherwise didn't move. "Yesterday we were attacked by a relative of the Italian Cows. Yeah, remember those? Hazel and I fought it and _tada_."

Nico got up and put his plate away, then made his way over to Hazel. "There is no way in Hades I am going to let you stay up. Come on, back to bed." He gathered Hazel in his arms and began carrying her to her room. "You too, Frank." he called back. Frank started to get up and paused to look at Leo.

Leo put his hands up. "Man, you know I can't carry you."

Frank rolled his eyes and followed after the children of Pluto. When he passed Hazel's room, which was across from his, Nico was sitting beside Hazel on her bed and they were talking softly while Nico stroked Hazels hair. When Hazel spotted Frank she smiled and Nico glanced back at him which was only a lot awkward for Frank. Even since his blessing from Mars, Nico still made him uneasy. Especially when he was playing the 'big brother' role. Nico leaned down, kissed Hazel on the forehead, and whispered something through his breath. As Nico walked out of the room, Hazel called Frank in, and coughed. He walked gently over to her bed and sat on the edge while Nico quietly closed the door behind them.

_ Oh, joy. _Nico thought was he stormed to his favorite place on the ship. _Just great. My little sister now wants to _sleep _in the same bed as Frank Zhang. She's too young! _He marched over to the mast and started to climb the rungs. _You know her, though. She just wants him present not-Shut it. _Nico told them. _She and Frank will be responsible. They'll just be responsible…together._ Nico leaned against the top part of the mast and sighed a deep, heavy sigh. He was just starting to wonder why tonight seemed cooler than most nights when he looked down. No socks, no jacket. Right. He grabbed onto the ladders top handles and was about to begin his decent when his foot landed on something soft, warm, and deformed feeling.


	2. Up on the Mast

"Mmerrrmphmm!"

"Oh, gods! Leo, I'm so sorry. Since when were you so quiet?" Nico flustered to get back to the top.

"Ugh. Foot. Tastes like sweat, demon dust and…Cinnamon? Why does your foot taste like cinnamon?"

That one stumped Nico. "I have no idea." he said slowly. After Leo got to the top-smacking his tongue all over the place in the process-he pulled a pair of black fuzzy socks and Nicos jacket out of his belt.

"I figured you might be a little cold." was all he said while he handed the clothes over. _Was all he said. _It was so weird, Leo not talking as much as normal, not making as many jokes. It had only started a week or so ago, and everyone, even Nico, had noticed. It almost worried him. Nico smiled, sort of, and put on his jacket and the black socks. They were surprisingly comfortable. Then he turned around and sat on the floor of the little deck with his feet dangling between the railing. When Leo sat down next to him he didn't turn away or flinch or even roll his eyes.

What was this guy doing? Nico hated people. Especially obnoxious people like Leo. So why didn't he seem to mind Leo being around? He even took a mint. From Leo! Then, it hit him. _Oh, gods, no. Not that reason. Please not that reason. No, it couldn't be. _Nico placed his head between two of the little wooden beams. _Why? _He was already a son of Hades. He was already from a completely different time period. He already had almost everyone he loved taken away form him. Why this, too? He just had to be-ugh. He had to be _gay._ As if everything else wasn't enough.

But then, continuing on, first it had to be the one person that everyone liked. The one that already had a sole-mate. Percy Fucking Jackson. And then-oh look!- the only way to save your friends is to admit it all in front of Jason. But wait! There's more! After all that he was stuck on a flying boat with none other than the one boy he had a crush on, the one boy who knew, the one girl that his former crush loves, his little sister, her boyfriend, a child of the goddess of love, and an annoying little mechanic jokester who just so happened to be older, smart, warm, funny, super skilled, really good looking with his stupid grease stains or in the godsdamn moonlight and, single. The little shit.

Nico looked over. Leo was gazing out over the clouds but when he noticed Nicos movement, he turned to look at him. Nico quickly glanced away and started swinging his feet. Leo had the nerve to smile.

"Nico?"

Nico stole a glare.

"You-" he tried "I-ugh. Nevermind."

_Good. I was busy hating you. _

"What is it, Leo?"

_ Fuck you, Nico. Fuck you._

Leo swallowed. "Did I ever tell you about the time I was launched off the ship?"

Nico looked over at the demigod and arched his eyebrows. What on Earth could this have to do with anything at all?

"Well, I was launched to Ogygia. The cursed island of Calypso."

_Oh. My. Gods. Why me?_

"I was only there for about a week-probably. After we stopped hating each other, Calypso and I, we worked in perfect harmony. Her voice was beautiful. She was smart and talented. Her laugh was priceless. Plus," Leo snickered "She was smoking hot."

_Oh, no, don't stop there._

"Anyways, when I had to leave, I made a promise to come back to her. And she kissed me, full and on the mouth and stuff. That was my first kiss."

_This is just the time of my life._

"So, I had this broken compass that I had found. I fixed it with a bit of the crystal from Ogygia and it led me back to the island. I fully expected to find her, maybe in tears, and to hug her and…" his voice trailed off soft and broken, clearly on the verge of tears himself. "And do you wanna know what I found?" This time his voice was steely and dangerous, something Nico had never heard from laid-back Leo. Like the edgy sizzle you get when a hot piece of metal is dunked in water. It startled Nico to hear Leo like this and when he looked over at the scrawny repair boy all Nico could see was his eyes, hot and full of fire and rage as a single tear slithered away down his dirty cheek and dropped onto his hand where it evaporated. _Crap. He's gunna catch on fire. What do I do? I don't know what to do!_

"I found a note tied to a tree." continued Leo, unaware of the panic going through Nicos mind. "A tree on an island that Calypso was never able to leave." Leo reached into his tool belt and brought out a small piece of paper. "Read it."

Nico slowly reached out to grab the paper. Leo seemed to be cooling off. The note was dirty and folded and the creases were clearly worn out. Leo looked at this note a lot. He pulled the paper from between Leos shaky fingers and unfolded the note in the light of the stars and the moon.

_Dear Leo,_

_I am so sorry if you ever make it around to reading this. Another hero came. After he left, he went to Olympus and reminded the gods of their promise to release me. Aphrodite took pity on us and led him back to Ogygia and granted him a boat that could take us away. We are leaving now. Leo, I hope you find happiness in life. I hope you succeed in your quest and I hope you get another chance. Good luck, Leo Valdez. I Love You. - Calypso_

Nico had no idea what to say. "Wow. That's…Harsh."

"Nico, she dumped me and cheated on me before we even dated. She did to me exactly what she hated heroes for doing to her. The irony." Leo said in a small voice. "You're the first person I've told about this. You're the first person to know I even know what Ogygia is. Please, do not tell anyone else." His voice was less steely now and a bit more pleading. He looked at Nico, straight in the eyes. Nico didn't want to return his gaze.

"I won't tell. I swear on the River Styx." Nico handed the note back. But when the paper was placed in Leos outstretched palm, it caught fire. Leo watched as, in seconds, the whole thing turned to ash. Nico was absolutely stunned. Poor Leo silently held his hand between the railing and slowly tipped all of the ashes out. He dropped his hand onto his leg and they both just stared at the sky for a while.

_"That _was deep." Nico announced after a long time, breaking the silence. Leo had stopped crying earlier-not that he ever really was crying by Nicos standards-and was absently drumming his fingers on his leg. Now he looked over and smirked, catching Nicos eyes for a moment. Nico took a deep breath and let it out shortly.

"Which means that I owe you something equally deep." Leo watched as Nico began fingering with his zipper. "But, on second thought, maybe I'll just tell you later." He looked away as quickly as possible. How could he be so _stupid?_ Now Leo was just going to press until Nico told him. And why would he tell him? There were a million touchy feely things Nico could tell Leo that weren't _that._ Leo was heartbroken! For a girl! He was going through some major stuff! And of all the people to find out he was gay, his new-found crush? What was he thinking?

"Hey, man. You don't need to go through some big confession just because I did. What kind of friend would I be then, huh? I mean, if you really want to tell me, great. I love secrets. But otherwise, you're fine." He put his hand on Nicos shoulder. It was incredibly warm.

"No. Okay. I-I've been having nightmares." He looked at Leo, waiting for him to laugh at Nicos stupid excuse. But he just sat there, his hand still on Nicos shoulder. "Ever since I returned from Tartarus I've had-They're terrible nightmares. The-they make me feel cold. The kind of cold you know you can never escape. But I sweat so much, I wake up drenched every time. That's why I didn't have my jacket on earlier. I barely sleep. And it makes me weak so I barely eat. Gods, I sound like a wimp." This was a lot harder to admit than he thought it would be.

"A wimp? 'Oh, no! I'm Nico di Angelo and I escaped Tartarus alive and it's bad for my sleep!'" Leo joked, raising his voice an octave or two.

"I do _not _sound like that. At all." Leo received a glare so ferocious he was surprised he didn't melt on the spot.

"Uhhh…New plan! Tonight-day-whatever, you sleep in my bed and if you have a nightmare, I'll wake you up!" Leo smiled a toothy, truthful grin.

"Right. 'Cause that's not suspicious, creepy, or weird."

"Nico, I'm trying to help." Leo whined. "You did something-somethings-that were supercalafrgilisous awesome sauce. At least let me help you help yourself get some sleep. Which will, in turn, help me help the crew help lighten the mood, helping all of us so we can help each other-help you, help me, help Piper, help J-"

"Alright! Alright, I get it." Gods! Leo could be annoying! "You want to be _help_ful. Fine. I will sleep in your room. At least it's better than a closet."

"I didn't know you were going to be on board! Don't try guilt tripping me, di Angelo!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Valdez." Nico said with a smirk.


	3. In the Middle of the Night

So after the boys had waken up Piper, Percy, Jason, and Annabeth Nico followed Leo to his dorm. It was weird. There was no denying that. Nico walked into the room and immediately wanted to leave. Leo shut the door while Nico just stood there, arms at his sides and still as a plank because he honestly had absolutely no idea what to do. After the door was shut Leo glanced over at the boy, as if to make sure he hadn't run away, and walked over to his messy bed. He tugged at the blankets and smoothed out the wrinkles and propped up the pillow. Still, Nico didn't budge.

"Okie dokie! All ready for a good nights sleep. Waddaya say? Will it do?"

Nico nodded awkwardly. Then he realized that he was supposed to lay down now and shuffled to the bed. He climbed into the blankets and got his head comfortable on the pillow. Well, as comfortable as you can get in a situation like this. Leo made his way over to the chair next to the cluttered work table and sat down, leaning against the desk casually.

"Ready for lights out?" he asked. Nico nodded again because he really didn't want to talk. "Okay. I can't promise that I'll stay awake the whole night but I can promise that if you wake up screaming, or I see you squirming in your sleep I'll be right here." He smiled a smile so real that Nico believed him. "Sleep well!" And with that, he flicked the lights off.

It took Nico about three seconds to fall asleep. Leo took a little longer. After about an hour and a half, the mechanic began to doze off. His chin was just bobbing onto his chest when he heard someone muttering. They sounded distant, and very concerned. But as the voice got louder the mutters turned into screams. Full out, terrified, on-the-verge-of-dying screams. They launched Leo out of his slumber and he rocketed out of his seat. _Nico. _Leo scrambled to the bed-side, tripping over everything on the floor on his way over. When he made it to the bed Nico was flailing and screaming and tears were streaming down his face. Leo grabbed him by the shoulders and shook violently. With a sudden jolt Nico sat straight up in bed. His eyes were wide and watery and his mouth was ajar. He was breathing like a horse but aside from that he didn't move. It concerned Leo very much.

"Nico?"

Nico turned his head slowly to look at the voice. His eyes were still wide with terror and combined with the pale complexion, it sent a chill down Leo's spine. Then without warning Nico began bawling. He doubled over and sobbed, hugging his knees in what looked to Leo like a yoga stretch. But Leo didn't know what to do. He was an only child. He never had anyone to comfort him and he had never really comforted anyone so he had an experience level of 0. He tried awkwardly patting Nico's back. He tried telling him it would be all right. He even tried singing a Spanish song his mother used to sing when he was scared. But nothing worked. Nico only sat up, knees to chest.

Finally, he decided to screw boundaries. This kid, this poor little kid, needed Leo's help and he needed it now. So with a leap of faith Leo sat down on the bed behind Nico, moving the pillow out of the way, and enveloped the poor, sobbing boy in a hug. Nico inhaled sharply at the contact, but after a moments pause he realized just how warm and relaxing Leo was.

Leo, on the other hand, had no idea what the hug did to the little boy. As soon as his arms made it all the way around Nico's legs and clasped his hands together the half-blood had been silent. People didn't just go from crying uncontrollably to sitting in the quiet darkness. He was about to release his grip and ask his friend if he was okay again when Nico broke Leos arms apart for him. That didn't surprise Leo. What did surprise him was Nico, turning around on the bed to face him, the tear tracks glistening on his face, leading the way for the other tears that were still pouring from his eyes. Then without a word and with no hesitance Nico leaned forward, laying his head gently on Leos chest.

Talk about shock. Not wanting to reject his disheveled friend he decided that if he was going to lull Nico back to sleep, he was going to have to be sitting up against something himself. Leo whispered "Come on." quietly to Nico and began scooting himself back towards the wall, lugging little Nico with him. Once they were both settled in Leo had his back on the wall with his head in the corner and his legs stretched out in front of him. Nico was still laying on his chest, one hand on the mattress and the other next to his head. His back was to the door but he seemed at ease. One of his legs were bent and his knee was rested on Leos thigh, sort of digging into his flesh because Nico was so skinny and boney but Leo didn't budge or complain. Nico had been through enough for one night.

Nico, despite just having one of his worst nightmares yet, was laying in a bed, ready to fall back to sleep. He did realize that he was sort of laying on top of his friend but it wasn't his fault. Leo was just so cozy. It had taken a lot of Nico's courage to place his head on the mechanics chest. But in the end Leo, with his warmth and soothing voice and smell of machines just caused Nico to emotionally cave in a way he never really had before. Nico had, through his actions, asked for help. And as much as his inner-self should be screaming at him for doing something so childish, the little voice stayed quiet. _He probably just fell asleep. _Nico figured. Would Nico regret this in the morning when he woke up practically on top of his friend? Probably. Would he cuss himself out? Most likely. But would it have been worth it? Absolutely.

So Nico sucked it up and decided instead to focus on the rising and falling of his pillows chest. On the fact that his tears had stopped and their wet streaks on his face were drying up. And on the odd comfort you get when you feel safe. Something Nico hadn't felt in a very long time. And as he thought all this, the son of Hades thought he detected a small smile, tugging at the corners of his mouth and trying to escape the prison that was within.

_Gods damnit, di Angelo._

Nico's eyes flicked open and he surveyed the room. The clock on the wall read 7:08. That meant there was only an hour or so before someone came in to find that their disconnected shipmate was laying in bed with the Captain. Nico was about to get up. To change the scene before someone could walk through the door. But then he noticed that he was laying exactly how he was last night when he went back to sleep. He didn't stir once the whole night. That hadn't happened in ages! Not only that, but this was the first time he had woken up since about nine in the morning. After the nightmare he slept like a rock. _Because of Leo. _So instead of avoiding the confusing situation that was bound to happen in an hour by getting up, Nico nuzzled his head a little deeper under Leo's warm ribcage and closed his eyes for just a few more minutes.

"Leo? Are you in there?" Piper opened the door to his dorm and peeked in ever so slightly. She didn't want to walk in on her friend changing or something. Her eyes scanned the room but when they got to Leo's bed, she gasped. Nico was laying on Leos chest! Oh, they were so cute! Ooh! And Leos hand was even on Nico's back! _Ohmygods, how perfect! _They both looked so content. Piper quietly squeezed through an opening in the doorway and equally quietly shut the door behind her. When her gaze returned to her two friends, her heart fluttered out of her chest. Child of Aphrodite or not, this was adorable. She tiptoed to the edge of the bed, careful not to step on the stuff littering Leos floor, and smiled once again.

"Leo." she whispered. Piper had a feeling she wasn't supposed to know about this yet so she had a plan to only wake up Leo and let him decide whether or not to tell Nico she had been here. "Leeeeeeooooooooo."

"Mmmmnnnnmm." he replied.

"Shhhh. Leo, I want you to look at me." Piper tried out some charmspeak. She had no idea how long Nico would stay asleep with her hovering over him.

"I'm up." Leo looked at her with tired eyes.

"Leo, you need to be quiet. Nico is sleeping."

Leo's eyes widened and he looked to where Nico was laying on top of him, then back to Piper shaking his head. But at least he was quiet.

"I won't tell. I promise. Not even Jason. But, uh, you kind of have to get up. It's your shift."

Leo just stared. He almost looked like he was trying to telepathically commute.

"Oh yeah. You can talk, just don't wake up the little guy." Piper whispered, smiling as she looked at the happy Nico below her.

"It's not like that!" Leo hissed. "He was having a nightmare and needed some comfort. We weren't snuggling or anything."

"Oh." Piper felt disappointed. _One of these days. It's just bound to happen now. _she told herself. "Alright. Well, don't forget to get up. Frank and Hazel are still out cold."

"Okay, as long as you don't tell a soul."

"Not one." Piper agreed. Then she bent down to Nico and kissed him on the forehead before she said, in the most hush-hush voice she could manage, "Nico, I was not in this room. You are asleep and never awoke to my voice. Go to sleep." She stood up and tiptoed her way back to the door. Before she opened it she glanced back over her shoulder and grinned. _They are the most amazing couple ever. _Then she slipped back into the hall to go lay down with Jason for a while.


	4. The Mess Hall

**Hi, hi! I don't think that any of my authors notes are really going through, which is a bummer. So, as a recap, I don't own the characters, PJO, or HOO. I will explain the title eventually and you are all fantasticly awesome human beings. That's all.**

Leo waited until the door was shut all the way and he heard footsteps going down the hall to the back of the ship. Great. Now Piper thinks Nico and I are a gay couple snuggling up together when no one's looking. Never going to live that one down. He looked down at his companion who looked extremely happy. At least I got Nico to sleep. He was very grateful that Piper had been so cool about it and hadn't woken Nico up. He would have flipped. Better get up before I fall back to sleep or someone else walks in. The truth was Leo really didn't mind being slept on. In fact, it was kind of nice. Having someone there with you. Plus, Nico was cold that Leo had tried to put a little more heat than normal to keep him warm. Apparently it worked because the kids skin didn't feel cold to the touch like it had last night.

"Nico. Hey, buddy. It's time to wake up." Leo talked softly which admittedly probably wasn't the best way to wake someone up but hey, it was a start. "Nico. Come on, man. Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey." Leo absently started rubbing Nicos back. "Nico!"

Finally, he began to stir. "Wha?"

Oh, gods! Someone came in and caught us! Crap, crap, crap, crap! Nico pushed himself up to turn and look at the door, completely not prepared to face the embarrassment of explaining this to whoever was standing there. But there was no one. Relief spread through his whole body and he relaxed back onto Leos torso.

"Don't worry. But I am kinda hurt you're embarrassed to be seen with me. I'm not that bad, am I?" Leo joked.

Leo! Gods, he probably thinks I'm a freak!

Nico pushed himself back onto his hands then away from the boy to the foot of the bed. Leo moved his feet out of the way and sat criss-crossed facing Nico.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Thanks, by the way, for, yeah." He fidgeted with the end of his shirt, completely lost for words.

"Nico? It's no big deal. I won't judge you. I'm just glad I could stop the nightmares, even if it was for only one night. And besides, it's only awkward if we let it be awkward so just let it go."

Nico glanced up from his twisted shirt to Leo who was smiling in question, as if he was asking Are you going to make a big deal out of this? He wanted to say 'yes' because he never acted so much like a kid but Leo was right. He just needed to drop it. So Nico nodded and stood up, straightening his shirt out.

"Good. Let's go get some breakfast then, shall we?" Leo wiggled his eyebrows at the thought of breakfast. Then he strutted to the door and checked the hallway for people. "No sign of organic life-forms. The coast" he swung open the door dramatically "is clear." Nico rolled his eyes as he followed Leo, who was marching, to the mess hall.

Once they got there they met Percy, who was just putting his cup and plate in the cabinet. "Oh, good. Piper did wake you guys up."

"Oh, uh, no. She didn't. I just sort of woke up at the right time and got Nico so we could make sure you guys were okay. Is everyone okay?" Leo wanted to change the subject. He was sure Nico was already onto him about the whole not-being-caught thing. It was pretty suspicious.

"Oh. That's weird. But yeah, we're all okay. Well, except for Hazel and Frank. Those two are siiiii-iiiik!"

Nico leaned forward in the seat he had taken. "Do you think they'll be okay? I mean, how bad is it?"

"They'll be okay, I'm sure. It's really just a bad cold. Nothing serious so far." Percy gave Nico a reassuring smile that caused the latter to squirm and reply with only a nod. "Well, I am exhausted! Nighty night you two! Hope a monster doesn't, you know, kill you or something." Percy just smiled again and left with a wink.

"Huh. So, what are you having this fine evening, sir?" Leo slid a plate and a cup over to where the other was sitting, nearly breaking the cup. Nico stopped the plate and freaked out as he saw the cup slide right over the edge of the table. He thrusted out his hand, catching it in the nick of time. As Nico set the cup back on the table, eyes open, he thanked his sword skills for giving him fast reflexes. He had no desire to clean up glass shards this early in the evening.

"That was pretty cool. I never would've caught it." Leo said, staring at the glass.

"What? Oh, yeah. I guess so." Nico shrugged. "So, what are you eating?"

"An omelet. Loaded with cheese and peppers and chives and ham and all kinds of yummy stuff. But I asked you first. What are you eating?" Leo sat down as his omelet appeared on his plate.

"I'm not really hungry..." he tried. Nico had no desire to eat.

"Uh, yes, you are. You can't just not eat. Gimme." Leo gestured for the empty plate and when Nico slid it over he willed for something small. Something he figured Nico had never tried before.

"What on Olympus is that?" Leo thought his friends eyebrows were going to leave and never come back, they had crept so far into Nico's hair.

"This is a Poptart. A brown sugar cinnamon one, to be exact." Leo slid the plate back while the innocent little Poptart steamed, as Leo had wished it to be toasted lightly. "I would suggest some milk to dip it in. That's when they're the best." Apparently Leo was correct because Nicos eyebrows still hadn't resurfaced. "Oh, would you just try it!"

Nico slowly reached down to grab the pastry. "What is it though? What's it made of?"

"Deliciousness. Especially in the middle. That's where the filling is." Leo took another bite of omelet.

Okay, now Nico was suspicious. Leo had given him this weird, flat, brown thing with some 'yummy' filling. What was up? He decided to play things safe and break the Pop-thing in half for inspection. It looked surprisingly normal. And it was giving off an aroma that was so amazing, he just had to try it. But he did not have to let Leo know that he wanted to. Nico broke the half he was holding into fourths and set one of the pieces back onto the plate. Then he sniffed it and flipped it over and studied the textures. He grabbed his cup and asked it for some milk. Nico probably stalled for a good five minutes before Leo snapped.

"Dude! Put it in your mouth before I shove it down your throat!"

Nico snickered and lightly put the piece in his mouth, breaking it in half with his teeth. Holy Hades, this is fantastic! He chewed slowly to preserve the flavor.

"Well?" Leo had a smile on his face and was clearly awaiting an answer.

"Eeh."

"'Eeh?!' It's delicious! What's wrong with you!?"

"Okay, okay. Calm down. You're going to catch on fire." Leo settled down a bit. "It is pretty delicious." Nico admitted.

"And you doubted me. Try it in the milk." Leo urged.

Nico dipped the bite-sized bit into the milk, soaking his fingertips, and after letting the drips fall off, set it in his mouth. Why are these so good? Nico just wanted to sit there, eating Poptarts and drinking milk for the rest of the night. Clearly his pleasure showed on his face because Leo let out a little "Told you so." and took the plate back from Nico.

"Hey!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, I just wanted to show you one more thing." Leo stared at the empty parts of the plate and imagined every flavor of Poptart ever made sitting in front of him, all with what flavor they were written in frosting on top. The plate did not disappoint. There was a mountain about a foot high of Poptarts stacked up. Leo leaned over so he could see Nico again. "Every flavor ever made. Whaddya think?"

"I think," Nico leaned over so he could see his new favorite person in full sight "That I'm going to need more milk."


	5. Not Part of the Story!

**All right. I am completely aware that my changes are not making it through the system. In chapter four, for example, the italics refused to work. I went through and edited it all and the certain parts are still is not in italics. I am terribly sorry for this as well as the false chapter. I do not have a beta (WINK, WINK) to go through and check to make sure these things are fixed before everything is posted. There are words and names that I have repeated, like, three times in a sentence. And again, I apologize. So please, until the edits start going through or I get a beta (WINK, WINK) things will be a little off. While I'm here, I need ideas for this story. Send anything you have in. Thanks for not trying to kill me for the false chapter.**


	6. An Unexciting Night

**Why, hello there, lovely. How are you today? Well, here is a new chapter for you. Sorry about that last one. Now, I know that this one's a bit of a filler. Yeah, nothing exciting really happens. But it should makes up for that with humor. Hope you like it!**

Nico had a dilema. Leo had just gone up onto the deck to check-up on Festus and Nico really wanted to go with him. To see how the ship and the controls worked and what sort of things it could do. But Nico also really wanted to eat his Poptarts. They were just so warm and sweet and delicious. He just couldn't get enough. But now he had to._ Leo and the ship or Poptarts and loneliness?_ Typically, this wouldn't be a very tough question. Actually, this wouldn't be a question at all but that was irrelevant. Nico was just about to shove all the Poptarts he could fit into his pockets when he was struck with a brilliant idea. He grabbed the plate, carefully sliding it off the table and into his arms, balancing the whole thing against himself. Then he slowly made his way to the little closet with the bed in it.

That was Nico's 'room' on the ship. It didn't really bother him that much. Sure, a little more space wouldn't hurt but hey. The ship was made to fit eight. The seven and Coach Hedge. Nico simply didn't fit into that category. So instead of cursing Leo for not seeing into the future and making a room for him, he just set his plate on the floor, opened the door and pushed his mountain of goodies into the space between the floor and the bed. It fit perfectly. His problem now solved, Nico grabbed two Poptarts from the top of the stack, closed his door, and headed up the stairs.

Leo was surprised to see Nico coming up behind him to the deck. He had expected to come up here to check on Festus and give Nico a little bit of space._ Well, I guess I'm just too good-looking to stay away from._ Leo gave the control panel his most dazzling smile.

"What cha smiling at?"

"Holy cows, man! You scared the living life out of me! Don't do that!" True, Leo had seen him coming and even acknowledged it but his ADHD brain had just pushed that aside, allowing Nico to sneak up and cause Leo to jump out of his skin.

"Woah. I'm used to making people jumpy but I think you just set a record. Did I really scare you that bad?" Nico had a ridiculous grin on his face, as if he was enjoying the stain Leo had nearly developed in his shorts.

"Why yes, yes you did. Thanks for asking. Actually, I'm a little proud. Sneaking up on people to scare the crap out of them is step one to pranking."

"Who said I sneaked? Poptart?" Nico held out both of his hands, each one containing a frosted pastry.

"Well, I guess one couldn't hurt." Leo reached out to grab at the purple Poptart in Nico's left hand but they were yanked out of reach by a certain tart-hungry fifteen year old. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Nico carefully read both Poptarts and then broke then right down the middle, holding one half of each out for Leo and keeping the other halves for himself. "I want to try them all." was all he said when he noticed the raised eyebrows on Leo's face. Then he continued to take a bite out of each, chewing slowly to get the full impact of the little yummies.

"You're really liking those, I take it."

"They're amazing." Nico replied matter-of-factly.

"Huh." Leo wasn't going to bring up the fact that the anti-food kid was scarfing the things down. He figured Nico would get all self-conscience and remember that he was trying to shut out happiness, causing him to stop eating-again. He did need to bring it up to Hazel, though. She was, well, she was worried sick about Nico and was always trying to get him to eat. _I suppose that means I'm even more awesome than I_ _thought! Self five!_ Leo brought both hands up above his head in a grand sweeping motion and clapped them together.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Nico asked, a waterfall of crumbs cascading from his mouth.

"Oh, uh, just, you know, thinking. To myself. Wanna see how Festus works?" Leo was anxious to change the subject from himself.

"Yeah! Yeah, I would. That's actually why I came up here." Nico shifted on his feet a bit as he answered, not wanting to sound like a creep.

"Well, you came to the right place!" Leo proceed to show his new friend around the ship. He had intentionally planned on just giving Nico a run-down but that quickly changed into a full-fledged, two-hour tour including the engine, controls, the whole works. By the time the two boys were laying in the middle of the deck, Leo talking all about the shape of the hull, Nico knew how the Argo II could fly, Festus's life story, Leo's drawing of the ship as a child, what crazy new weapons were being designed, how Leo could understand the language that machines like Festus used, and what it was like to be a fire wielder. Plus, he could even remember about ¼ of the controls Leo had shown him like how to steer the ship via Wii remote, how to make the oars row, and how to make the consol pop buttery popcorn.

"That" Nico popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth "was fascinating. What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know. I actually find it weird that you have to ask. Shouldn't we be valiantly defending the ship from evil monsters?" Instead the two were laying peacefully on the deck, hands behind their heads, one's head next to the other's.

"You're right. The only useful thing we've done so far tonight has been making that plate of Poptarts."

Leo smiled. Hazel would be so proud of him once she got better._ That's it._ "Come on, buddy. I know what we can do." The captain pushed himself up and stuck his hand out to assist the son of Hades that was below him. Nico grasped his hand and hauled himself off the smooth deck, with a heave from Leo to help. There it was again._ Help_. Nico continued to accept help from scrawny little Leo._ Forget it. You're going to_ _stress yourself out. It's just a hand off the floor._ So Nico stood and brushed himself off. "What's the plan, man?"

"We are going to be caretakers." Leo replied with dignity.

"Oh, joy." Nico put as much sarcasm has he had into the 'joy' part.

"To the mess hall!" Leo acted like it was a war cry for battle. In a way, Nico supposed it was. The two were probably going to be fighting off sickness for the next few days now. But it was for Hazel so Nico followed Leo to the mess hall once again.

Nico knocked on the door to his sister's room lightly while Leo held the bowls of steaming hot soup. But he opened the door to find an empty bed, of blankets and demigods alike. "They must be in the sick bay." Nico turned around, this time leading the way instead of trailing behind. When they got to the end of the hallway Nico didn't hesitate for a moment before swinging the door open. What was inside relieved him. Two beds had been pushed together and Frank and his sister were bundled up in blankets, snuggling._ Snuggling, I can manage._ Nico thought to himself. Leo, on the other hand, did not keep to himself. "Awww! Look at them, Nico! Aren't they just the cutest?

_No._

Frank, who had been smiling down at his girlfriend, looked up, obviously annoyed. "Shove off, Valdez."

"But we brought you nummies!"

Hazel had begun to stir and opened her eyes, smiling. "Hi." she tried in a weak voice. Nico took one of the bowls from Leo, who was swinging them around dangerously, and sat on the side of the bed his little sister was on. Leo went around to the other side, sitting next to Frank. Nico helped Hazel sit up and got the blankets situated so they were covering her but not strangling her. Leo, on the other side, tried to help Frank in the same way.

"Valdez, I am going to throttle you. I think I can sit without your help."

"Are you sure, Frankie?" There was clearly a smile tugging at his lips. Leo didn't know why but Frank was his favorite person on board to tease. Frank was not happy about this. "Hey, Leo? Do you know about where we are on the world right now?"

"Oh, somewhere over Spain, I believe. Why do you ask?"

Frank looked at where Nico and Hazel were listening in. "If Leo isn't anywhere on the ship tomorrow, you might want to check Spain. I don't know, it's just a hunch." He turned back to finish fixing his own blankets. Hazel let out a small laugh and Nico smiled while he got a spoonful of soup and began blowing on it. Leo did the same on the other side of the bed. Then he slowly brought the spoon to Hazels lips, letting her drink it. "Mmmmmm! That is the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had! Gimme another bite! Actually, just give me the bowl, I can just drink it."

Nico handed her the bowl. "That is the most excited I've ever seen someone about soup."

"It's really good soup! Go get yourself a bowl." She looked pleadingly at her skinny brother. "Please? I want you to at least try it."

"Alright, little sister. I'll be right back." But Nico didn't get up because right then the funniest thing ever happened right before his eyes.

**I know, I know. ****_LAAAAAAAME._**** But at least I tried, right? I guess these would turn out better if I had a beta (HINT, HINT) to give me a second opinion. But, alas, I do not. Surely at least one of you wouldn't mind? I mean, when I checked this morning it said that there were about 730 visitors so far. Looking at it from a scientific point of view, there should be ****_at least one _****of you amazing little beings who wouldn't mind reading the chapters before anyone else. To help write the story? No? Alright. If you change your mind, PM me! Tootles!**


	7. Not a Laughing Matter

**Guess who's back? Yup! After being harassed via reviews, I finally updated! So why don't you go ahead and read because I did leave you with a little cliff hanger...**

Frank's eyes were wide, his lips a thin line. At Leo's exclamation of "Open wide! Here comes the airplane!" both Hazel and Nico had looked over to find Leo grasping a spoon of soup, so full that it was very near to spilling. But that didn't worry Leo. He took the spoon, held it high in the air and made sloppy boat noises as he slowly steered it towards Frank's face. Frank was watching the spoon as it curved between invisible clouds, creeping its way to his lips; but he had no intentions of letting the 'Yummy Express' land in 'Frank Food Airways'. So instead he glared at Leo, wishing that his girlfriend wasn't watching so he could beat the maniac into a pulp.

"This is your Captain speaking. Control refuses to open the hatch to our landing strip, so we might be in for a slight delay. Thank you." Leo's hand was about six inches away from the shape shifter's face, and still nobody moved. Nico was staring right at it all with a blank look, waiting for Frank to explode. Unable to focus on anything else, Hazel's mouth was hanging open as she watched them, mostly in shock, her soup threatening to splash all over the bed. Frank's eyes tore into Leo's skin as Leo closed the gap between the spoon and the 'Airways.'

As Yummy Express covered the small space between Frank's mouth and itself, Frank's eyes widened even more, daring Leo to continue. Leo made a 'Boop' sound when his airplane came in for a landing, leaving a few drops of its cargo on Franks closed lips. Then, after no reaction from his friend, Leo dropped the spoon back into the bowl.

"You're no fun!" he pouted.

"I am going to KILL YOU!" Frank screamed as he lept from where he was sitting, jumping on the mechanic. He grabbed Leo by the shoulders, and they both tumbled to the ground. The soup was thrown all over the bedding, and the bowl halfway across the room where it came to a clattering halt. Leo was screaming "Dude! Dude! Dude! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Okay? Calm down! Owowowowow! Fraaaaaaaaaank!" He was flailing as Frank sat on top of him, holding his prey by the collar of his shirt, threatening a good punch in the face. Hazel watched on from the bed with a very scared look on her face and a noodle stuck in her hair. "Frank?" He looked up and saw his girlfriend; it softened him a little, but not enough to convince him to get up. So instead, he turned into a bear.

Not a big bear, just a sun bear. It was white, reflecting everything. They were super rare but Frank had seen two on an island once. So he sat there, stubby legs set in front of him and bear paws crossed, head turned to look down at Leo, who was still shouting. "Man! Come on! I-I can't breathe! Would you just-ugh! MOVE!" With his last words he brought both of his knees up, to slam into the fuzzy pelt on top of him. Frank let out a surprised yelp, then glared at Leo again. _Want to play that way?_ In his mind, Frank envisioned a new animal, and, with shouts from Hazel and Leo, a rhino was soon crushing a very startled demigod underneath him.

"Dude! I-OW! OH MY GODS! OWOWOWOWOW! FRANK!" A white hot pain had erupted in Leo's chest._ Broken ribs! AwwwwowOWOWOWOW!_ Every slight movement Frank made caused Leo's side to hurt more and more. Finally, Hazel's shouting and Nico's sudden involvement got Frank to shrink down to his normal self. Which was when he noticed his victim was on fire. Nico rushed over to Leo, who was wincing as he blazed away.

"Leo. I can help but you need to stop, uh, being on fire." Leo brought his hand up to his face to find that he was indeed on fire. He willed the heat away and could instantly tell it had when he felt Nico scoot over and place Leo's head in his cold lap. Hazel, who had been scolding Frank for almost killing the poor boy, was now staring at them, jaw dropping as Nico began brushing the hair from Leo's eyes. Frank followed her gaze, his body straightening in surprise as his eyes widened._ Never in a million years…_

"Leo? Leo, what hurts?" Nico was staring at his upside down face, waiting for a response.

"Ribs…" Leo croaked.

"Hazel, get some nectar or ambrosia." Nico barely glanced up at his sister. "Shhhh. Don't move." Nico looked up again and saw that she hadn't moved. "Hazel!" Flinching like she'd been slapped, she muttered "Right. Nectar. Ambrosia." as she walked to the cabinet. When she returned, Nico carefully fed Leo a square of the ambrosia, letting a slight smile flicker on his face when Leo sighed in relief. Unbeknownst to him, Frank had caught that flicker.

"Come on. Why don't you lay down for a minute, okay?" Nico moved around Leo so he could carry him to the nearest bed. "At least you got hurt in the sick bay. You need to eat less." he added as he lifted Leo.

"No. Wait. You can't. You can't do watch all alone. Put me down. I'm fine."

"Leo, considering the fact that your head is lolling on my shoulder and I'm carrying your limp body to a bed, I do not think you're fine. Stay here. I'll grab a blanket." Nico turned to a cupboard where the crew kept clean blankets, and grabbed one for his friend, tucking him in. Leo cuddled the soft blanket even as he protested to Nico taking watch alone. "I won't be alone. I'm sure Frank would like a breath of fresh air. And if a monster comes along he can just turn into a rhino and ram them off deck or sit on them or something."

"You're both massive asses. Not you, Hazel. You're cool. But you two," Leo said, nodding in the direction of Frank and then smiling up at Nico,"are asses."

"Alright, then. Sleep well. I'll come over to check on you later." Nico turned to his audience and the mess of a bed behind them. "Need some help cleaning up?"

Hazel was shaken out of her shock once again, and she shook her head, pushing Frank gently towards the door. "No, no, I can get it. It'll be nice to be able to help after being useless for so long. You two go ahead." She stooped down to grab some of the soupy sheets hanging from the bed, trying to busy herself. What had she just seen? Did.._.No, no. That was just Nico being good natured, right?_ She moved to pick up the bowl that had slid across the room, glancing around to where Leo was already sound asleep.

"So, uh, you and Leo, huh?" Frank was leaning against the railing, letting the wind wash over his face. He couldn't believe he'd just broken Leo's ribs. Even more than that, he couldn't believe that Nico and Leo were dating. They were such an unlikely pair._ But, it does make a little sense. Nico keeps Leo down to earth_ _and Leo helps Nico have fun._ Frank shrugged the thought off; for all the grief and shock he was experiencing, he was mainly just feeling terrified. Nico was scary. There was no way around it. He wore all black. He didn't talk to many people. He was the son of Hades. He was thin, but he was also tall and you could tell he had some muscles. He was the second best sword fighter Frank had ever seen, (Percy being the first) and the dark, stygian blade he always had was really unsettling. The kid practically radiated death and fear. And Frank had just sat on his boyfriend. Nico was going to _kill_ him.

"What? Oh. Oh, no! Gods, no! We are not-no! Frank! No!" Nico stood up from where he had been leaning and gave Frank a strange look.

"Wait, so you aren't…Then what was that?"

"That was me! Being friendly, gods forbid! Now do you understand why I don't hang around the living? You always assume things! Had it been anyone else on the ship I would've done the same thing!" But even as the words came out of his mouth, Nico knew they weren't true. He wouldn't have done it for half of the people on the boat._ I am so screwed._ He breathed out a sigh, letting his body sag back onto the wooden rail.

"Listen, man. Whatever. You and Leo are dating-whatever." Nico put on a face that clearly said _We're not!_ "You just helped out a fellow half blood-whatever. I really shouldn't get involved. Sorry if I offended you or something." As Frank looked over at the extremely intimidating boy he had to keep himself from adding 'Just please don't hurt me'.

"Whatever." Nico repeated.

The two boys remained there for an hour or so, until they finally went below deck to check on Leo and Hazel. Frank stayed down there with Hazel, leaving Nico alone for the first time that night. He spent it playing with controls and trying to communicate with Festus, until the sky began turning from starry black to a navy blue.

It was time to sleep.

**Yayyyyy! Bit of a lame last line but I can go anywhere I want with it! SO, pretty cutsie, right? It wouldn't be half as good without my lovely beta. Shoutout! To Abitheimpala who also has a beautiful story up that you should go read. Sorry everyone else, the job has been filled. I will update as soon as I actually figure out what's going to happen next. Have a lovely rest of the day and go do something productive. Draw or write or build something!**


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